Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who do I see?
by Crackalive
Summary: Murder and a lost memory. Naruto and someone's name. A dark tale of madness, death and what the mirror cannot reveal. [ONESHOT][COMPLETE]
1. Look in the Mirror

**Summary**: Murder and a lost memory. Naruto and someone's name. A dark tale of madness, death and what the mirror cannot reveal.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Rated M** for some graphic depictions and mature themes.

Sorry, sorry for the wait. I know you are waiting for me to update Exit Strategy, but here's a oneshot I've written instead. The inspiration loosely comes from the Hannibal series

* * *

**Mirror, mirror on the wall, who do I see?**

Naruto learned the news on a Tuesday night.

Sai came running to where his teammate was eating at Ichiraku's stand. The emotionless ninja was paler than usual, lines of worry creasing his forehead as rainwater dripped down from his hair.

Naruto blanched as Sai's words reached his ears. He dropped his chopsticks and ran away from his meal, a rare sight. He ran through the rain as if his life depended on it. If it was true, then had to be there _now._

The two ninjas skidded to a halt at the crime scene.

Special Jounin had closed of the area surrounding the house. Tags had been placed on the windows, probably barriers. Naruto saw a member of Torture and Interrogation exit the front door and walk up to a couple. They were clearly distressed; the blonde woman was openly crying. The ninja that approached them uttered a few words. Her sobs intensified as the ninja held up an umbrella for them.

Naruto knew who they were. He knew that this house was where she lived. A sickening ball of dread settled in his stomach. He imagined the worse. Sai stood stiffly at his side, moving only when the head of Torture and Interrogation beckoned them over.

The two of them followed Ibiki into the house. Naruto marched silently through the kitchen, up the stairs… into the room. The buzzing in his ears grew.

"A single stab wound to the heart." Ibiki's rough voice broke the silence. "From the front."

Naruto was rooted to the spot. He couldn't tear his eyes away. The man next to him licked his fingers and turned a page.

"The victim was lying in bed, but was awake. We found no signs of a struggle."

He wasn't listening. Didn't want to. All he could see was the blood. Dried, wet, dripping or settling into thick, black clots on the bedsheets.

Ibiki lifted the robes drenched in blood. It was indecent, but Naruto couldn't tear his eyes away. All of the blood had left through a tiny wound, a perfect incision under the breast.

"It looks like an aborted healing attempt. We don't know what to make of this…" the man said, shaking his head. "… but we are certain that the victim knew the killer."

Ibiki's eyes settled on Naruto and turned hard. Naruto swallowed.

"In fact, we presume the victim allowed death to ensue despite being capable of healing the wound. It's a basic skill all chuunin must be able to perform."

Sai's voice interrupted Ibiki's staredown. "We?"

"The Special Investigation unit. In fact, I was the one to propose the possibility." His eyes returned to Naruto. "The others theorized an assisted suicide, but we both know that it's highly unlikely, don't we?"

Naruto gulped and nodded slowly.

"Go now. We'll be calling you soon."

The blond ninja didn't want to move, but he willing his body to turn away. At the door, he turned and stared. It didn't matter now. It was a dead body, nothing but flesh that wouldn't care if he looked at it.

Sai pulled his arm. "Come on, Naruto."

* * *

"Speak."

Sai gazed at his teammate before signing and rolling up his scroll.

"I've read that keeping your emotions to yourself after a traumatic event can lead to-"

Naruto's cry was hoarse from all the screaming and crying. "Shut up!"

"Can lead to self-destructive tendencies. The S.I. has yet to rule out a suicide… it wouldn't do if you took your life too."

Naruto's fists clenched. The knuckles were bloody from punching rocks. They were soaked with tears, tears that now mingled with the light rain on the Hokage monument. He had cried himself dry, raged at the setting sun until he felt spent. Deep down, however, he knew that the easy way out of his pain was not his path. He knew just as certainly that it had been a murder.

"Speak."

The jinchuuriki shuddered. "I said shut up, Sai."

His teammate was undeterred. "It is necessary that you express-"

"IT WASN'T A SUICIDE!"

Sai heard the shout echo against the rock face. He felt too the invisible swirl of chakra, tinted with an otherworldly rage. He had been assigned to watch over the village's weapon. He had failed his task of keeping the Kyuubi under control twice already. Not this time.

"Why?" Sai quipped.

Naruto stared at him blankly, before returning his head between his knees. "I know… I … just know…"

Sai's voice droned on. "What are you going to do now?"

"I…"

Naruto closed his mouth. He hadn't given much thought to an 'after'. He was living his loss in the 'now'. He couldn't leave it behind so soon. He squeezed his eyes shut. The images were burned into his retina, as clear as day. Every time he blinked, he could see the prone figure laying in a pool of blood.

Sai looked at him expectantly.

"I'll find whoever did this." Naruto whispered. He nodded to his own statement. "I'll find them and do the same."

"The same?"

Sai was curious now. This didn't fit with the profile he had made of his teammate.

Naruto's murmurs were heavy. "I'll kill them, and whoever helped them."

Red irises rose to meet him, a slit pupil running through them.

This would have to go in his report.

* * *

The summon was two days later.

Naruto trudged up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Sai was with him, but had the decency not to question him anymore.

Hinata crossed them on her way down. She didn't stop for Naruto, didn't even look at him or fumble a 'hello'. No, she passed by as if he wasn't there.

Naruto gulped. She was a ninja, so _had _noticed him. He burned with questions to ask her. Where was everyone? Why had no-one come to see him? Naruto cleared his thoughts.

The office was guarded by a masked ninja. Many others were surely hidden in the surrounding.

"You."

The ANBU agent was pointing at Sai.

"Out."

Sai smiled and turned away. Naruto was halted by a cold pair of eyes. With a sigh, Naruto gave a final glance to his teammate and turned the doorknob. He met an unfamiliar sight. The office was _tidy_. Tsuande sat behind a spotless desk, Shizune at her side as always. There was a single chair in the middle of the room. Two masked ANBU flanked it. Naruto frowned. What was happening?

"Take a seat." the Hokage said. The tone was unfamiliar for Naruto too. It sounded _professional_.

Once seated, Naruto waited while Tsunade shuffled between the reports in front of her. He spotted Ibiki's handwriting, and photos of the crime scene. He closed his eyes when Tsunade picked one of them and held it up. What was depicted… was engraved in his head already.

Tsunade put the photo back down and looked at him.

"It's been two days, Naruto. Do you remember anything?"

Naruto squirmed in his chair. "Remember?"

"I guess not." The Hokage shook her head and moved the pile of reports to the side. "Has your memory functioned perfectly these last two days?"

"Y-yes."

"But you still have nothing to tell me?"

Naruto looked up with a puzzled expression. He opened his mouth, but had no answer.

"We've collected the evidence from the scene. The death occurred yesterday night. We've dated the chakra signatures to 2A.M."

"Signatures?"

Tsunade gave him a piercing gaze. "Yes, there were two. The victim's and-"

"Stop calling her that! She'd not just 'the victim'!" Naruto trembled on his chair. "She's-"

"Silence!" Tsunade snapped. "I'm the one asking the questions! Respect your superiors as a Konoha shinobi!"

Silence followed her outburst. Suddenly, Tsunade's voice dropped to a whisper. A pained whisper.

"I know who she is, Naruto." Her eyes rose to meet him. "I'm desperately trying to forget her and look at this objectively, but inside…"

Naruto saw the Hokage bring a fist to her heart. He knew that feeling. He had lost Jiraiya, Tsunade had lost Dan, but this time… he could do something about it.

"Naruto, both of you were very dear to me." she continued. "I-I've…"

The teenager felt his heart clench. He didn't want tears right now. He heard a rustling sound, then footsteps. Shizune handed him a folder and walked away, silently. She was wearing black. Naruto knew his own bright orange looked out of place.

He looked down at the folder and opened it. It was a summary of the S.I.'s reports; included were Ibiki's recommendations and an inventory of the evidence collected. Naruto scanned through them… until something caught his eye.

His name was mentioned.

He flipped through the pages faster, with a growing sense of dread. There! He was cited as… no, it couldn't be. He threw the report to the floor and stood up.

"It's impossible!"

Strong hands gripped his arms and forced him back into his seat. Something was stuck to his back. With a hiccup, his chakra flow slowed to a trickle.

He forced the words through the sudden weakness. "I can't be-"

Tsunade… she was looking at him with _pity_.

"All the evidence points to it. The weapon used had prints, there were skin cells and hairs on the victim… and your chakra."

"No, no… it's impossible." Naruto tugged weakly at the arms that held him in place. His eyes brightened. "It's a fake! I'm being framed! I've got to be-"

Tsunade's reply was stern. "The Kyuubi's chakra can't be faked."

"It's…" He didn't have the energy to talk anymore. Breathing was becoming difficult.

The Hokage stood up. "There are other elements too. You've been disappearing lately, evading even the ANBU surveillance team. On the day of the murder-"

"NO!"

Shizune scowled and stepped forward. "You killed her, Naruto, _you _did."

Tears formed in Naruto's eyes. Not her too…

Shizune's voice carried equal measures of hate and sorrow. "Admit it so we can bury the body and grieve. Do it… you monster!"

The assistance twisted to face Tsuande, before mumbling something and storming out of the office. Tsunade's eyes followed her sadly.

"Naruto, I don't want to lose both of you." Naruto's ears perked up at the voice he couldn't see. He couldn't keep his head up. "I'm sending you over to Interrogation. They can have Inoichi look for more clues, okay?"

Naruto tried to nod. There was a pause before the ANBU ninja lifted him out of the chair and carried him away.

* * *

"Name?"

"Naruto."

"Full name!"

The young man's head rolled limply. Whatever they had drugged him with... was powerful.

"N-Naruto Uzumaki."

The interrogator sat on the other end of a plain steel table. Other than a masked guard, no-one saw what happened in the room. It was a ninja village after all. The Torture and Interrogation specialist smiled.

"Good. Let's continue." His tone was dry, curt. This was his day job. "Naruto, can you provide your rank and number?"

"Chuunin. Oh-one, twenty-six, oh-seven."

"Do you remember your latest mission?"

Naruto blinked.

"I... it's confidential."

The interrogator flipped the sheet he was holding. "I see. Someone else is coming for a series of tests." He peered at him through spectacles. "Answer truthfully. It is your duty as a ninja of Konoha."

Naruto tried to nod. His vision was blurry, and he couldn't focus his eyes on anything without a splitting headache. Something moved in the edge of his vision. It sat down in a chair identical to the one he was chained to.

The new voice was smoother, younger. "Good afternoon."

"Good-"

"Let's keep this short and simple. You're the prime suspect in a murder case. Killing a fellow shinobi is not punishable by death, not with the stress and breakdowns this job involves. A few months of rehabilitation and you're ready to become a weapon again."

Naruto heard chair legs scratch the floor, and purposeful footsteps. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from his ear. The man was pulling on it.

"Your case is different, Jinchuuriki. You hear me?" The special jounin tugged harder, speaking close to his ear now. "Anything sloppy from your side and we're going to have to suspect that your _devil _is behind it. Eating your mind. A pawn of the nine tailed demon, aren't you? We can never be sure. Not when that _thing _is whispering to you from the inside_."_

Moisture collected on the edge of Naruto's eyes. He hadn't felt the Kyuubi's presence in days! How could he ever regain the villagers' trust, now that they thought her blood was on his hands? The fingers on his ear left with a sharp pull. They settled on his hair, forced him to face an open scroll. A silky voice whispered right next to his ear.

"Do you recognize this kunai, Naruto?

The blond's head was forced down, a photo was pushed to his nose. The steel was marked with an "NU". It had to be his. Naruto nodded.

"Good... of course. It's yours, Naruto. Where do you think we found it?"

A single tear fell down his cheek.

"I don't know."

The man grabbed his hair and shook. Naruto tried to bring up his arms, but they were chained to the chair.

"Don't you?" Wide-opened eyes deep-set in a face pink with anger crossed his vision before moving back to his ear. "You really don't?"

The voice became deeper, angrier.

"I know. Let me refresh your memory. We found it _inside_ her. Down to the hilt. Could you have done this?" Finger gripped his hair tightly again. "Are you powerful enough to protect the village? Are you powerful enough to push it all the way in?"

Naruto shuddered. He didn't want to cry. He didn't want to imagine his own hand doing... _that_. He glanced at the kunai caked in blood. Not to her. A new photo filled his area of vision.

"Do you remember being here?"

Naruto mumbled a 'no'. Pain erupted from his scalp.

"I can't hear you, Jinchuuriki. Tell me, tell us all in that loud mouth of yours, if you know this place!"

"I-I..."

The young man sat trembling in his seat. Just what did the interrogator want? Was this even an interrogation? He could feel the heat of the man's face on his cheeks. It was too close for comfort. Too angry to be professional.

"Have you been here, Naruto? Do you remember being here?" A sharp tug on his hair. "Is this place familiar to you?!"

A few seconds of silence passed.

"You do not wish to answer?" the man whispered. He let go of Naruto's hair, patted it softly and stepped back. Naruto's head bobbed up and down as he tried to follow the interrogator's movements. "This makes me happy, brat. You shut your mouth..." A full set of torture tools and truth serums appeared on the table. "...and I get to open it."

"I-I... I do!"

The man turned, eyebrow raised. A pair of curved clippers was already in his hand. Naruto looked down in defeat.

"It's her bedroom."

"So... this _victim _of ours, she let her killer into her house, no her bedroom, and let him kill her."

Sweat trickled down the blond ninja's front. His interrogator took a slow step forward, negligently waving the clippers as he spoke.

"I can only deduce that she knew her killer _very _well. Are you one of the people she trusts, Naruto? Was she a friend to you?"

"Ye-"

"Did the victim trust you enough to let you enter her house?"

Naruto gulped and shut his jaw. He didn't like where this was going.

"Tel me, Naruto, did she trust you enough to let you enter her _bedroom_?" The man's eyes brightened with inspiration. "Did you... did she die because of a lover's quarrel?"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest. A hand slammed on top of his head, silencing him. He could feel the cold steel dig into his scalp, draw blood. The man's delight quickly turned into rage.

"So a ninja of Konoha trusted you... and died for it." His face was very near now. "S_omeone let you into their bed _and this is the reward they get?!"

Naruto was lost for words. This was so untrue he couldn't think of what to deny first.

"Tell me demon, was she good? Was it before... or _after_ you killed her that you-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH."

Naruto cried out in pain as two figures stormed through an open door. His interrogator removed his hand, moving back swiftly to stand straight.

"What were you doing, Tokusa?!"

Tokusa upturned his palm. "I took a hair sample."

"Get out." the other voice snarled.

Naruto breathed out as the two new persons occupied the room. They were older. Higher ranked, maybe? He thought he recognized one of them... Inoichi? The blond felt a measure of hope. Maybe he would understand him better!

"Listen to me, Naruto."

The new voice felt soothing in his ears. He tried to move his eyes to where it came from.

"They overdosed the sedatives. As expected from those fools." A warm palm rested on his shoulder. "Naruto, this is the head of the Mental Interrogation department. He's going to look at your memories for more evidence, if you accept."

Teary, cerulean eyes searched for the patch of yellow hair that belong to Ino's father. He couldn't speak anymore. Too tiring. Naruto nodded in relief instead.

"Good. We'll make preparations tomorrow morning."

* * *

Naruto stared at the ceiling.

Sparse moonlight tinted the shadows a deep shade of blue. It was a cool color. It wasn't the hot red shadows beneath his eyelids that did nothing but remind him of all the blood. A smile crept onto his lips. He liked the color. He tied it to those hot summer nights, where he would leave the stuffy apartment and sleep on the Hokage monument, on top of the still warm stone.

The ninja turned in his bed with a sigh. After this, he would probably never get to do that again. After all, he might actually be guilty. A frown returned to his forehead. He tried to think of how he could do such a thing without remembering it.

It could have been the Kyuubi. The demon fox had possessed his mind before, hadn't he? No. Kurama wouldn't do that. Even if he did, he wouldn't resort to killing _her_. He wouldn't resort for anything less than destroying the whole village.

Maybe it was a genjutsu... something so powerful, so subtle, that it hadn't been detected in him yet. The Sharingan! He could have been manipulated a Sharingan user... but Itachi was dead. Sasuke gone. Obito... he had defeated him with his own hands. Naruto rubbed his nose. Were there no other Uchiha? Kakashi maybe?

"Damn it!"

Naruto threw off his covers and sat up. He was reaching for impossible solutions to his problem. He'd wait until tomorrow. He wouldn't feel embarrassed at revealing all his thoughts if it cleared him from the murder. Until then, he'd fend off the crushing sentiment of guilt that threatened to overwhelm him.

* * *

When the time came, Naruto breathed in, then out slowly.

He was sitting cross-legged on a mat. Inoichi, on his knees in front of him, placed his palm on Naruto's forehead and closed his eyes.

Two minutes later, the mind-reader's eyes re-opened with a puzzled look.

"He's clean."

Naruto's heart pounded. It was too good to be true! Had he been cleared from the accusations?

"But..." Inoichi turned to his superior. "The memories only go back three days."

His breath froze. What was Inoichi saying? Why was Ibiki frowning like that? Naruto clenched his fists and waited in silence.

"What's your expert opinion, Inoichi?" the gruff voice sounded. Ibiki's vocal strings were as scarred as his head.

Ino's father spread his arms. "I can't say! His head's empty. No traces of being tampered with, none at all..."

"Humm..."

Naruto tried to hold it in, but couldn't any longer. "What's happened to me?"

His question met blank stares. His felt a new emotion rise in his chest, something he had forgotten for a long time. _Anger_. "Has someone messed with my mind?"

Inoichi and Ibiki did not speak. They were watching him, recording his reaction. Well, he'd give them his reaction! "I'd never kill her! So tell me! Did someone make me do it? Wipe my memory and frame me?!" Naruto's voice broke. "Did I kill her?! I WANT TO KNOW! I didn't do it... please..."

Strong arms descended on him. His first instinct was to resist, but he knew it would only turn against him, and so he allowed his wrists to be put back in cuffs. It was shameful, but if it made them believe him, then he would gladly accept the burden.

Inoichi shuffled uneasily. "Naruto... You know my daughter well. I think she'd want me to do this."

Naruto stared at the head of the Yamanaka clan. Ibiki looked away.

"I'm going to mark today's session as inconclusive. Tonight, we'll check your head for any... problems you might have. This isn't going to be perfectly legal so..." His eyes shifted to his superior then back to Naruto. "I'm getting a private detective that'll do the job for us. You don't mind?"

"No...no, thank you." Naruto bowed, placing his head on the floor. "Thank you, sir, thank you."

* * *

The day passed with a sort of bored tension that left Naruto exhausted.

Who was the private detective? What was he going to find? He had no answer for those pressing question, yet nothing else could interest him. He sighed into his pillow and looked around.

His apartment had barely changed over the years. Just like the fridge, the walls, the rooms... it was always empty. Kami, he wished for someone to talk to. Yeah, he should have shared what he was going through with someone else. Iruka, if he was busy, Shikamaru or Choji. Even one of the girls would do.

There was a knock on the door.

Naruto sprung from his bed, rushed to the door before skipping back and adjusting the covers of his bed and pillows he had piled on top of it. Another knock followed, more insistent.

"Coming!"

The blond ninja took a deep breath, centered his polished headguard and unlocked the door. Inoichi came in uninvited. A robed figure waited for the man's approval before stepping in.

"Umm..." Naruto started. He shut the door with a jump and moved to give his guests a wide berth. "Would you like some tea?"

Inoichi cut him off. "Naruto, she's here. We don't have much time."

"Er, okay." Naruto glanced at the robed figure. A mask hid the hooded face.

"You know her. Hinata?"

A soft voice answered him from behind the mask. "Yes, sir."

Naruto gaped as the kunoichi lowered the hood and removed the mask without looking at him. Was she working with Torture and Interrogation? His astonishment turned into guilt. He hadn't been keeping up with his friends. It had been weeks since the end of the war, and he still didn't have the answer she wanted. Now that her friend was dead and himself the prime suspect, Naruto guessed it wasn't a good time to excuse himself for avoiding her for over a month.

Inoichi clapped his hands. "Let's begin!"

"O-okay. Do you want me-"

"Just sit here and keep still." Naruto gestured to the floor at his feet. Inoichi nodded, and Naruto complied.

Hinata knelt in front of him. She handed a scroll to the mind reader and closed her eyes. The man unrolled it and started to take notes while standing. His gaze moved to the kunoichi.

"Hinata, you know what to do. Make it quick."

Naruto gulped and allowed himself to observe her face. She was paler than usual. The edges of her eyelids were red and swollen. She had been crying then, recently too. Judging by the rings under her eyes, she had lost sleep too. Naruto bit his tongue. How much had the death affected her? Why hadn't he been by her side?

"BYAKUGAN!

"Ha!" Naruto cried in surprise. He quickly looked away when the pearly white orbs settled on his... forehead.

Seconds ticked by. What was she looking for? Naruto's eyes wandered upwards, until he was staring at her face again. It was strange to have Hinata not react at all to his presence. He hadn't even obtained a greeting from her, not even condolences for his loss. In fact, she hadn't spoken to him all. Was this revenge for his own negligence?

No. He looked at her, and she looked _past _him. The kunoichi wouldn't do a petty thing like that. The only explanation he could think of for her reaction, or lack of one... was that she suspected him like the others of being a cold-blooded murderer. Naruto's heart sunk.

"I've completed the inspection, sir. The chakra pathways are undisturbed." The girl's usually soft voice droned on. "There is no presence of foreign chakra, nor the Kyuubi's chakra. There are no signs of a tumor, infection or an inflammation either."

Inoichi gave a final slash to the scroll and spoke. "Well, that rules out external factors." He turned to face Naruto. "Sadly, it isn't a physical we can deal with. Naruto?"

Naruto shuffled uneasily when the man squatted next to him. Hinata stood as if uninterested and walked away. He tried to follow her with his eyes, make a sign, but Inoichi brought Naruto's attention back to himself.

"I have seen this happen to many reputable ninja. When someone faces a traumatic event or commits a shameful act, they may will themselves to forget it. I suspect your loss of memory is entirely psychological, Naruto."

The young blond stiffened. What was he trying to say?

Inoichi cleared his throat. "I... can't say you didn't do it. You might have a problem you are unaware of, and it is understandable if you had wanted to forget something you did because of it. Tell me, have you ever felt as if you weren't yourself? Maybe you remember the act as a dream and dismissed it. Naruto, did you ever dream of-"

"No! No no NO!" Naruto clenched his fists. "I'm not CRAZY! I never killed anyone!"

The mind-reader sighed and moved to sit facing Naruto. "We won the war, Naruto. You power was crucial, but... many reported seeing you talking to yourself."

"Huh?" Naruto exclaimed. He looked away. "I-I wasn't talking to _myself_. The Kyuubi... Kurama, I convinced it to lend me its power."

Inoichi nodded gravely. "Well... having conversation with a tailed demon isn't much better, is it?"

Naruto glared at him coldly.

"Ha! What do I know about the Biju, much less having one talk to me! Come on."

The man stood up briskly and offered his hand to help Naruto up. He took it just as his apartment door opened and shut.

"I'll send the report to the higher-ups, maybe ask Tsunade to put her word in. For now, stay here. You've been placed under... protection. You understand, right?"

Naruto nodded sadly. His heart was still beating. He was going to be observed by teams of specialist ninja around the clock. They were probably outside his apartment right now, but it wasn't what disturbed him.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto clenched his teeth against the invasive presence. He tried to dismiss the overpowering thoughts that threatened to take over him. Wasn't Inoichi... dead? Killed during the war? He saw himself drinking with Shikamaru and Ino. They wore funeral robes still damp with tears, and... he shook his head. Maybe he really was sick after all, to come up with such things.

* * *

Later that day, Naruto found himself making tea.

He sat on the kitchen table and simply watched the water boil in the kettle. It was relaxing, somehow. Naruto followed the steam as it rose, slowed down and formed intricate sculptures before disappearing into thin air. The smell was nice too. He had left the tea leaves inside the kettle, and now they produced a sweet, humid smell that filled the kitchen.

It reminded him of _her_.

Naruto closed his eyes. He would honor her memory. Inoichi had called him crazy, had suggested that he was losing his head. Naruto fought desperately against the haziness in his mind to disprove him. He would remember her, now that she was dead, as clearly as he could, and hold on to that memory forever. She would live on inside of him, as did Neji.

Naruto opened his eyes and wiped them. The steam's lazy spirals were being blown away by a gust of wind. The ninja frowned and got up. Had he forgotten a window open? He stood up and left through the kitchen door, entered the short corridor leading to his bedroom's open door...

Naruto was there.

A Kage Bunshin?!

No. It wasn't possible.

Naruto stared at his exact copy. It was kneeling on the floor, back facing him, and busy with something in front of it. The black cloak, the dirty hair... he didn't remember creating something like that. Even so, having his chakra shut down during interrogation would have dispelled his clones.

"H-hey... me?"

The clone spun around, got up and shushined centimeters away from him. Exact copies of his eyes sized him up and down.

When it spoke, the voice... his own, sounder older. "I see things are progressing well... good, good. Keep it that way."

That's when Naruto say what his other was working on. It was... no. His mind refused to see it. It _couldn't _be. It was ... dead... the person they said he killed. She was there...

Naruto blinked, disbelieving. His clone gave him a smug grin and returned to his task. He hadn't killed her! But why, WHY was her corpse in his room, being manipulated by his own clone... wait, was he _sealing _her?

The blond's mind reeled from the implications. Had he really been... the killer? Had a clone of his gone rogue? It wasn't possible! They had the same mind, so if the copy had murdered, then he too was-

Naruto slammed his hand together, making a cross with his fingers. Chakra surged within him.

"Dispel!"

The clone mirrored the move with equal swiftness. Nothing happened. Naruto prepared another burst of chakra. He felt compelled to know what the person in front of him was thinking.

"DISP-"

His own chakra rushed back at him, having hit a superior force. Naruto was pushed back against the wall and slumped. The clone clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly.

"Naruto, Naruto... you don't want to be doing that."

Naruto groaned. His throat was parched and all his limbs trembled. Had he used up all his chakra in that simple technique?

"Listen to me!" His own hand reached for his collar and lifted him to his feet. "There are things happening you have no idea about. Things far greater than yourself. So I want you to shut up, go through all their stupid tests and wait for me to come back, do you understand?"

He was being talked down by himself. Naruto's face transformed into a scowl as a burning question cleared his thoughts and pushed forward.

"Did... did you kill her?"

He was met by a smug grin.

"DID YOU KILL HER?"

Naruto's clone opened his hand, dropping him to the floor.

"I'm you, aren't I?"

"WHY?! She was my... my-"

A kick to the guts cut him off. His clone's voice seemed far away now, as blood rushed in his ears.

"You can take a hit, and you've retained that bratty personality. That's all that matters. Wait for me to return, as I said, and I'll e...xplain-"

Naruto didn't hear the ending. Shadows engulfed his visions and he let himself fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

Naruto woke up with a start.

Sunlight beamed through the open window, accompanied by peaceful bird chatter. In front of him had been-

He sprung to his feet, blinking back the dizziness. Just moments ago, a Kage Bushin had entered his house with... her, and started sealing the body. The ninja frowned at the memory, wiping the drool from his mouth. It sounded silly now that he pictured the scene. Had it been a dream?

Naruto started walking around. As far as he could remember, his clone had entered through the window. He must have left muddy prints.

He spent the remainder of the hour scouring the apartment for traces. He felt sick by the end. Sick of sniffing the carpet for blood, sick of looking for drops of ink his clone had used to write the seal, _sick and tired_ of his hallucinations.

What was happening to his head?

His memories were jumbled, his imagination overactive... everyone was suspicious of him, even his own friends. He had trusted Hinata, so why did she give him such a cold stare? Had it been something he had done and not remembered as well?

Naruto dropped onto his couch.

Maybe it was all true... he really had killed her. Naruto looked down at his hands, pictured himself stabbing like he would an enemy. The images swelled up from the depths of him mind easily. There she was on her bed. She'd get up and let him into her house if he had an excuse. She'd lead him upstairs. A kunai... he would draw a kunai at the last moment. Stab. Draw blood. It had been a single strike, maybe he was feeling merciful. A quick death. No more pain than necessary.

Naruto retched. In his head, the puppets played out the scenario.

No one had come for her, so she hadn't cried or shouted for help. She had faced him without a struggle. Was it surprise? Had she not expected him to kill her? She thought he was normal. Naruto thought of himself as normal and sane too, in fact he felt the same right now. How else could he fool her for so long, if he did not believe it himself? The puppet named Naruto pulled out the knife. The two had been standing, so Naruto must have helped the puppet named... her onto the bed. She must have been lying there, bleeding to death and... she had stopped the healing. She _wanted _to die. She... Naruto's breath hitched... she wanted to help him.

Why? How could her death benefit him?

Naruto opened his eyes. Tears blurred his vision. He moved a shivering hand to wipe them but it was covered with his dinner.

What had he told him not to do?

Naruto delved back into his memories. He had had a dream last night, a dream where his clone was the culprit and the corpse had been sealed in his home. He had tried to... he had been told not to... dispel.

Naruto brought his hands together, prepared the chakra... but relented.

In his dream... if it had been a dream, he had wanted to destroy the chakra construct that imitated him. It had been the murderer. It had the same mind he had right now, and yet it had killed one of his precious people, someone he had sworn to protect with his life.

Whatever was wrong with the clone... dispelling it would merge its memories with his. It would infect him with whatever problems it had developed on its own. Would dispelling the clone make him a murderer too? Would he gain the memory of stabbing the kunoichi to her death and watching her die? Naruto felt sick again. Would dispelling the clone make him responsible for her death?

Naruto got up weakly and shuffled to his bathroom. Once there, he opened the cold tap to full blast and washed himself.

If he used the technique, he would know if he really was the killer. Even if he had committed the act, at least he would know if it was something of his own doing, or if he was pushed to kill for a reason other than that he simply was a cold-blooded killer. It was in Jiraiya's teachings. Knowing is better than living on in ignorance.

The blond spat out the water and lifted his head. His reflection met him. Wild hair jutted out on top of a pale face. His cheeks had the sunken look that came with chakra exhaustion. A smile twisted them.

Was he really debating acting upon something he had dreamt up one night? That was more worrying than his memory loss. Trying to dispel a clone that didn't exist wouldn't cost him much, but it still meant that he was prepared to act in consequence of a hallucination. If he did, then everything, even the murder, could be the product of faulty perception of reality.

Naruto looked down at his wet jumper, his damn palms stuck together. To dispel a clone that didn't exist...

Chakra moved through his coils and gathered at the tips of his fingers. The moment Naruto completed the technique and expelled the chakra, he knew somwthing was wrong.

A cry of horror rose up his throat, but never left his lips. Naruto dissapeared in a cloud of smoke.

The tap was still running.


	2. Is it you?

**Summary**: Murder and a lost memory. Naruto and someone's name. A dark tale of madness, death and what the mirror cannot reveal.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Rated M** for some graphic depictions and mature themes.

The long-awaited (I hope) second part and end of this one shot. A descent into madness it is.

* * *

Naruto's eyes fluttered open.

Dark clouds swirled in the sky. Rainy breezes chilled him to the bone, but he did not shiver. He drew his cloak tighter around himself and closed his eyes to pass the time-

Naruto jolted to his feet. Where was he? How did he know he had a cloak? How... did he know that he was waiting for someone? His head felt heavy. The gathering clouds outside was nothing in comparison to the internal storm in his mind. His mental self was assailed by something that wanted to take over him. It was dark, angry and lethal. With it came a barrage of memories, each thick with tragedy and rage.

It was himself.

Naruto held his head. Pushing back against his own mind was giving him a splitting headache. With bleary eyes, he looked around. The curved stone he stood on was the head of the Third Hokage. Down below, the village's rooftops were shiny with rain. There was something in the corner of his eye that he refused to look at... a scroll.

Something... _someone_ whispered to him who was sealed inside.

"No..."

The blond ninja dropped to his knees and retched. This couldn't be happening! He clutched his hair, panting. He would never... it was impossible Where was he?! Why was this happening?!

Sensing a moment of weakness, his other self launched an assault at his consciousness. It threatened to overwhelm him and replace his fragile mind with the version of himself that murdered his own teammates. He knew that with it would come images of bloodied hands, stained kunais and blank stares... _her _blank stare.

If he could push all of it back long enough, then maybe it didn't have to be true.

A bad dream, yes. Something he'd forget after a hot bowl of ramen and a good night's sleep. Yes, it was just a bad dream and the cold emerald eyes he remembered so vividly would go away.

It was then that Naruto sat up. A chuckle escaped him. It was so silly.  
Just what was he fighting? Who was fighting? He had just been a shadow clone for three days. A worthless chakra construct designed to fool the enemy. The _thing _in the back of his head was his real self, the one that bore the truth of what he had done. Why would he resist merging the two minds? Hundreds of thousands of clones before him had done so without a hitch. They had never complained about their existence being denied like this.

Naruto wiped his forehead from the rainwater and let out an uneven breath. He was shaking now. The downpour had increased in intensity and penetrated his cloak. He wondered if the scroll was waterproof. His eyes shifted to it.

This was the end, wasn't it? The end for him, the last remaining moments of the bright ninja who wanted no more than to protect his precious people, nothing greater than to be acknowledged by those around him. In a matter of minutes, he would lay his eyes on the scroll again and see not the tragic loss of his friend, but someone he had killed with his own hands. He hadn't even told her how he really felt...

His fingers curled, then turned to fists.

If he had mere minutes left, then he would put them to good use.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

An eternity later, the sewer appeared in his mind.

It had been a constant in his life. The cage, the leaky pipes, the gloomy atmosphere... they had never changed. Like the Kyuubi they contained, he could rely on them to stand the test of time.

"The brat dares return here... have you no SHAME?!"

The tailed beast's voice boomed from the shadows before he took his first step. Penetrating the darkness, Naruto could see no more than the red circles of its eyes.

"Uh... hello?" Naruto tried.

Kurama's snout crashed against the cage, followed by gigantic paws that began rattling the bars. Naruto cowered from the din. It really sounded like the fox was going to break through the cage once and for all.

"IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!" the Kyuubi raged. "Look at what you have done! Skin and bones are all I have left!"

Naruto covered his ears. He noticed that the fox was really thin now. Ribs protruded against thin red fur, and his arms looked more like twigs than twin forces of nature.

The teenager's voice was a whisper compared to the giant's beasts bellows. "W-what happened to you, Kurama?" The fox's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?! YOU did this to me!" The Kyuubi's booms shook the water at Naruto's feet. "I gave you to the key to my power... and you betrayed my TRUST! You sucked me dry, you traitor, and gave all of it to that man!"

Naruto frowned for a second. Had he betrayed his closest friend too? But first...

"What man?" he asked.

The nine-tailed fox's jaws clamped shut and curled with rage.

"Don't tell me you have no memory... of all that you did?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped. He sat down and crossed his legs. "Kurama... I don't. I would never do all those things. There's this other version of myself... he's evil. He was wrong. You were there, Kyuubi, you always see everything. Tell me what happened, please."

The fox's lips twisted into a grin. Naruto felt uneasy.

"Yes... yes I do. I saw you follow that man. He modeled you into something of his own creation. The same evil flows in both of you now. I also saw... her death." Naruto drew in a sharp breath. Kurama's eyes flashed. "He sent you to kill her, and you obeyed. Do you wish to know why she died? The reason-"

"Don't say her name!" Naruto shivered. "Please don't." He couldn't bear hearing her name again. It would make her death real. It would eliminate the small chance that this was all a bad dream.

"I see." The fox's low growl contained a hint of amusement. Naruto paid it no attention. His obsession over a single death must have sounded ridiculous to a beast that destroyed whole villages.

Kurama's voice grew softer. "I know why _her _death was ordered, why she let you kill her... and why her last words were 'Don't be sorry'."

Naruto's fists gripped the fabric on his knees tighter. He needed to know, but didn't want to hear. Had she really said that? Just what was going on? Above him, the nine-tailed beast smiled softly.

"Come closer, and you will see for yourself."

The ninja stood up hesitantly. The fox's head bobbed up and down, indicating for him to approach. Naruto started walking warily.

"Even closer, Naruto. Walk up to this cage."

Naruto wobbled. He needed to know... but something inside of him was telling him not to. He shook his head free of those thoughts. For all he knew, it could be his alternate self suggesting them, hiding the truth.

"Good, good." The fox's muzzle was pressed against the cage now, hot breath washing over the ninja. "Touch this bar now."

Naruto gave the Kyuubi a puzzled expression but outstretched his hand. He gripped the vertical steel bar under the Kyuubi's nose.

"How does it feel, Naruto? Describe it."

"Ah... warm?" Naruto stared at the piece of metal, perplexed. "It's old."

The Kyuubi's eyes glinted. Naruto glanced upwards. The beast had been angry when he had arrived, why was he answering his questions now?

"It's ancient." the voice growled. "The first... Now touch this one, Naruto."

Naruto inhaled deeply and took hold of the next bar of the cage. His grip tightened and the tension in his shoulders decreased.

"Describe the feeling, Naruto."

The teenager's voice wavered. "It's really nice."

"Do not be ashamed, Naruto. What does it remind you of?"

"Ah, well..." Naruto scratched the back of his head with his other arm. "It's strange. It's like my mother was here."

Kurama's growls shaped a laugh. "Indeed, brat, it would feel like that. Now... this one holds the answer you are looking for."

Naruto gave the fox a questioning look, then traveled down to the third bar on the left. He reached out for it and closed his eyes.

His brows furrowed at the sensation... then his heart froze in his chest. A cold lump settled in his stomach as the realization hit him.

His legs felt week and wobbled. He dropped to his knees.

The world started to roll around him, his gaze focused on the bar of metal and his piercing headache returned. This was... how could he... was it even possible? His grip on the bar tightened to steady himself as a cold hand wrung his guts.

"It's-"

The Kyuubi's booming cackle filled the chamber. Two gigantic slitted eyes hovered next the bar Naruto was holding. They blinked slowly, studiously examining the trembling ninja in front of them up and down.

"You never did ask yourself the question, did you?" Man-sized fangs flashed in the darkness as the beast spoke. "What held up the seal during all these years? What power could tame my own? You used my chakra. You know that _something_ was repairing the damage, pushing me back within the cage..."

Naruto couldn't scream. He couldn't move. It was as if his hand was wrapped around a live wire. Kurama rolled his eyes.

"Your parents sacrificed themselves to seal me. It wasn't with their flimsy muscles or tiny spark of chakra that they did so. It was with their _souls_." The word echoed around Naruto, piercing him, driving him to the brink of insanity. The giant fox simply grinned, revealing row after row of razor-sharp teeth. "But their souls are mortal... limited. They're human." He spat the last word.

The blond tried looking up, forced his jaw to open and say something. He couldn't. He was rooted to the spot.

"The seal could only control me for a short period. It had to be replenished. So..." The Kyuubi's lips stretched into a mad grin. "Every few years, a ninja of your village was sacrificed to keep me locked in here. One by one, their souls were fed to the Shinigami. Of course," -his muzzle pressed against the bars- "all that mucking about with my chakra meant they needed _more_."

Silence returned to the chamber. Nothing could be heard, not even Naruto's heartbeats. The giant fox swished its tails and sat back for a nap.

"S-so it w-was..." Naruto's shaken voice were barely a whisper by the time they reached the fox's ears. "...all my fault?"

Kurama tensed before easing his muscles. He had waited decades for this moment. The moment where his host would finally break and grant his low awaited freedom.

Naruto was oblivious to the Kyuubi's scheming. He was lost in his own private world, in which his sanity balanced precariously over the edge of the impossible. A world where heroes became murderers. Where smiles became goodbyes. The words he was hearing... the warm sensation in his hands and how everything fell into place.

They had all lied to him... no, his _life _had been a lie.

It had all been a dark rush for power that had started from before his birth and still continued to the present day. It was seventeen years of death and corruption he hadn't even known about. But now... now he knew. If even a _sliver _of all this was true, then he had to do something.

The hundreds that had died during the war, the still faces of those he knew, cooling in the mud... he closed his eyes against the faces of those who had cheered him on over the years. He saw them all with bloodied hands now. Now, now that he knew, all the things he had promised to do and say once was over seemed petty.

What did love matter when the entire shinobi world was built on the bones of the dead? Friendship... it was a scam meant to control him.

The ninja's eyes rose with a new light in them. With knowledge, came the ability to _do _something about all this.

The giant fox witnessed this and hid his smirk. _Humans_.

"Kurama." The name grated the fox's ears. It was a honorable title granted to the most powerful of the tailed beasts, not something to be sullied by human mouths. "Tell me, Kurama. Who did this?"

Two cerulean eyes stared up at him. Gone was that energy, that brightness in them that wanted to change the whole world. Naruto had given up on being a hero. The brat had finally realized that the cost was too great. The Kyuubi returned his own blazing red gaze.

"And what would it do if I told you?"

Naruto snarled. "I need to know! I'll learnt it from you or someone else, if it is the last thing I do!"

The Kyuubi's lips turned down in disgust. All of them. Every single one them was a sorry creature, spreading nothing but deceit and destruction in their search for a drop of power. Himself had became a tool for them. With all his might, he could not fight the chains they had crafted out of the chakra forbidden to them. It was his right, no his _duty _to escape his prison whenever he could.

"Heh. And what would you do?" the beast replied. "The person that came up with this method of keeping me here, and kept it going for all these years... are you going to beat him up?" The ninja froze. "Are your fists going to bring back all the people sacrificed?" He knew he hit the spot when Naruto trembled and lowered his gaze. "Is punching going to bring _her _back?"

A broken voice reached his ears. Kurama did not like, as many thought, bringing despair through trickery and lies. He crushed and destroyed openly, but did not attack the mind. It was below him. In this case however, it was necessary. He had a greater objective.

"Then what can I do?" the boy whimpered, eyes locked on the soul he held. "I-I... I didn't want her to do this. I won't allow it to h-happen again." Naruto opened his fists and closed them around the bar. "There's too much... b-blood on my hands. Too much. Too..."

"Then end it."

Naruto's eyes opened at the booming voice.

"End the cycle." The Kyuubi's red pupils flashed. "Release me. I can change the way the world works for the better, if you'd let me." A massive muzzle pushed against the bars. "I have a task, and you know it."

Naruto clenched his fists and shook his head. "I can't let you do that. You will kill... thousands. I'll find my own solution." The blond stood up and with a final, longing look at the vertical length of metal, turned around.

"DON'T!" The air rippled with the cry. "Don't you dare walk away again!"

Naruto forced himself not the shiver. A mountain-sized mass of chakra was seething with rage behind him. He could practically feel the terrible red eyes boring into his back. Not now, he told himself. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He just wanted to get out of his own mind, curl up in a corner and grieve for all those who had died.

There simply was no energy left in him to argue with the fox.

"Naruto! You promised." The ninja took another step and halted. "You told the world that you would change it for the better. All the words you told the Shinobi Alliance were _hollow_? Are you a hypocrite like the Uchiha?!"

Naruto jumped when house-sized claws slammed against the cage and made it ring. Was Kurama getting bigger?

"Turn around and face me! Face your promises!" A wave of hot air ruffled his orange jumpsuit. "I'm giving you the opportunity to make good on your word. I'll bring the change you wanted! I'll end the cycle of hatred, all the wars and deaths... you'll be hunting _me_, not each other."

The Uzumaki took another step. The fox grimaced. No choice.

"Sakura's dead!" The water rippled once, then stilled. A spear of pain, sharpened by guilt, pierced his heart. Where was that comforting warmth he had been holding on to? Where was she?! "YOU KILLED HER!" Naruto grasped his head and blocked his ears, but nothing could stop the images filling his eyes.

The mission being explained by the village elders. The trick with the clone. The touch of the smooth sacrificial knife in his palm. The seal taking in her soul. And those last words she had told him...

The fox was growing impatient. Freedom was inches away, enticing. He could see it in the way the boy was curled up on the ground, whimpering 'no' and caressing an imaginary face. A final push and the blond would and give in. Kurama bared his fangs, ready to-

Clunk.

The titanic construct of natural energy had been caught by surprise.

Barely containing his own nervous energy, the Kyuubi swished his nine tails and poked the gate with his muzzle. The metal swung outwards with a low groan. Was this real? Had the time finally come? Ears pressed against his head, he tiptoed out without a word and circled the figure at his feet.

Decades he had waited for this moment. Time during which he had watched the world rot, and his power be siphoned. He felt like he could explode. He would do so soon. But first...

"You did the right thing Naruto." The teenager heard the gruff tone through the repeating images in his head. It sounded almost fatherly. "Now rest."

Kurama turned and faced the darkness at the end of the chamber. Fresh scents of the outside world reached his nose. He grinned. One leap and he'd be free. The muscles in his legs tightened, and powered by freedom, the fox returned to the cage, shut the door behind him and slept.

A silent scream rung inside the tailed beast's mind before his last thoughts were crushed by the sharingan.

* * *

A long time had gone by.

Naruto had spent the time straightening her hair. He had tried finding and untangling all the knots in her long, pink locks. He had rested her head on his knees, smiled at her big forehead, and eaten something other than ramen for once. However, he knew that it wasn't going to bring her back. She was just a memory. A pleasant one nonetheless, but she lived only in his head now.

Naruto blinked away the tears andgripped the empty space in front of him. It was nice, getting to remember her when they were happy. He had wanted to tell Hinata the truth about their relationship, but he hadn't wanted to sadden anyone, not after the war, not when those who grieved their precious lost ones celebrated victory to forget.

A hand rested on his shoulder.

Naruto looked up and wiped his cheeks. His father was always there for him, as he had promised. The blonds exchanged a silent nod and one of the faded away.

When he turned to face the darkness of the sewer, he knew that the _other_ man that occupied his head would be waiting. Naruto opened his eyes and gazed at the sandaled feet tapping impatiently on the water.

"Let's go outside."

* * *

It was still raining. Cool droplets of water tumbled down and splashed in puddles, making short-lived ripples.

The man's sandal crashed down, wiping all of them away.

Naruto followed obediently. How should he feel? He looked up and gazed at the back of the armored plates. He was angry but too tired to feel strongly about it. Maybe he should grieve. Grieve for the loss of his other half, the one that still held onto the ideals of the old world and fought for the memory of the traitors he had called friends.

The man in front of him had brought about a new age. One where his old self wasn't needed.

"I'm hesitating to call it a failure, you know."

Naruto nodded slowly. He felt as cold inside as the streaks of water running down his back. Whether he had proven himself worthy to the man didn't seem as important anymore.

"I see that you're still affected. You successfully created another personality in that Kage Bushin, but it took over you for a short while. The resonance was too strong when the memories returned."

The man halted and faced him. Red pupils spun and focus on him. "Are you fully in control, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto's eyes met the red pupils. He couldn't look away now. All he could do was answer with a meek 'yes'. He exhaled when the eyes let go of their death grip on his mind.

The man sneered and turned away to continue marching. Where was this? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered in the new world. "It is still an unacceptable risk. I need you to be fully devoted to your purpose. If we waver in our duties, then all the sacrifices that have been made will have been for nothing."

The blond ninja nodded absent-mindedly. Wait. That didn't sound right. There were no more _ninja_.

"You'll understand then that I'll need you to go through a few more tests?"

Naruto missed a step and splashed in a murky pool. Madara continued ahead before sighing heavily. The weight of the world really did weigh on his shoulders. The man spun around with an exasperated look. It softened when he rested his eyes on the bright young man that faced him. The boy had such a sad face.

"Naruto..." Madara tried a smile. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. "You show so much promise. Of the few that I've kept by my side, you were my first choice." He stepped forward and kissed the blond's cold forehead. "When I'm gone, you'll be the one to maintain the peace in my stead. Look around you."

Madara gestured towards the street filled with civilians. The crowd had opened a path for them.

"These people, they live in peace and harmony thanks to you." the Uchiha continued. "It is only a small price that I am asking from you. Your memories, the people you thought you knew, they betrayed you... didn't they? That girl, she betrayed you too, don't you remember? She stood in our way and threatened the peace of this world. She had to go. _You _had to let her go, and she served her purpose by keeping your little monster chained."

Madara sighed. Naruto returned a blank face and faraway eyes. Slowly, the Uchiha reached for the blond's hand and forced the kunai out of his grip. Such unconscious, mindless defiance towards him, when would it ever stop? He had tried reforming them, killing their emotions and even invented whole new lives for them, but that spark of rebellion remained despite his best efforts.

He spoke softly now, as if weary. "Naruto, do you want to go back?"

Naruto's mouth opened slightly. Raindrops rolled down his open eyes.

"Naruto... is it really your wish to escape the Tsukuyomi?"

Madara didn't need an answer. He read the shudder, the twitch of the fingers and the increased mental resistance to his visual prowess. The boy yearned to be free, whatever the consequences. He opened his palm and watched the rain wash away the blood on the kunai. The shadow of a doubt passed over his face.

"Naruto, raising your hand against me must be punished. However, I will grant your wish." The Uchiha gripped the kunai and held it in front of him. With a quick jab, he pierced the boy's shoulder. Naruto didn't flinch. "The way of war ...and weapons, will soon dissapear. Enjoy your freedom."

* * *

Naruto gasped for air.

He felt feverishly sweaty. Icy chills shook his body, each time strengthening the throbbing pain coming from his shoulder.

The former ninja staggered to his feet. His orange jumpsuit was a muddy mess now, and now featured a red smear extending down to his feet.

Walls of rain rolled down the street. The chilling waves pierced his skin and rattled him to his bones, but Naruto didn't mind. It was a sort of divine retribution for having done so much wrong. Appropriate in its own way.

He peered ahead.

Through the mist, he made out the villagers walking around. This was Konoha. Madara always returned to this place. The people he had tried so hard to defend were now milling about without care for the rain or the mud. A couple walked their children there. An elderly woman walked back and forth between two shops, unable to decide which to enter. Neither store had unrolled their awnings, so now the fruits and vegetables floated in pools of water.

It was only natural. The perfect world Madara had created existed only in their heads after all. It had blinded them. Their belief that they lived in peace without anything to worry about was so strong that they could not being themselves to do something about the rain. He could cry out in pain right now and call for help, but the villagers wouldn't hear him. Nobody was going to get hurt, so he could not be injured.

Naruto was going to look away from the depressing spectacle when something caught his eye.

It wasn't a shape or shadow, but a particular color.

The blond brought his hand up to his shoulder and touched the wound. It wasn't deep. Despite being muzzled like a dog, the Kyuubi still did his part in the new world by providing chakra and healing him. He sniffled and started walking.

I'm free. The thought should have brought him happiness. He could not use his chakra the way he wanted, or lay hands on a weapon, but at least he could use his mind again. He should have started making plans to defeat Madara. His duty as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf was to rally his allies and liberate the village.

Naruto spat on the ground and limped along.

He would do all that later. He wanted to keep his mind empty for now. If he started thinking, then he'd have to remember, and he had a suspicion that he didn't want to go there. Whatever had convinced him to accept Madara's offer and join him in policing the world... he didn't want to go through it again. No. He couldn't trust himself to not fall for it a second time.

The mud squelched under his feet. Naruto squinted through the haze. The color he had seen was part of a person, and that person was standing on the opposite end of the street now.

Rubbing his shoulder, he wondered what pushed him forward. Nothing could affect him now, he realized. He had nothing to lose, for he had lost everything and everyone. All of the people had had kept close to his heart were now dead, mindless zombies or traitors. The rest weren't in better shape.

Naruto took the final step, sunk into the mud and reached out with his arm. He had recognized her from afar. With a smirk, he tapped her shoulder. Madara had revived her as promised. That was what had convinced him. In the darkness following her death on the battlefield, Madara's deal had seemed like his only. Her life in exchange for his own.

Sakura raised her head. Something was on her shoulder.

The blond's hand reached out a second time. So what? She was alive, but it was all a lie. Madara had built her out of his own memories. If the Uchiha really thought that he could still sway him back to his side by putting her in front of him-

Naruto's hand froze. His smirk dropped.

Sakura's bright green eyes met his. Her face, just as he knew it would, was framed by twin streaks of pink. She smiled. His heart broke.

"Yes?"

Her voice. It was cheerful, nearly melodious. It was without a worry in the world. How could he? How could he have dropped so low? How cold had his heart been to trade a lie for the whole world? Naruto brought his hands to his face. One was bloodied. The other had touched her.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to give you a place to clean your shoulder?" She frowned momentarily. "It's awfully dirty. That's not good."

Naruto parted his fingers to look at her. He was shaking. Something other than rain streaked down his cheeks.

He couldn't now.

He could never return to his old life. He couldn't ever ignore how fake this world was. Naruto once believed that he could ignore that fact and live with Sakura in Madara's world, free of worry. But he had betrayed the ideals she had died for. Then, he had killed her with his own hands, perpetuating a bloody ritual under the Uchiha's command. He couldn't forgive himself. The Naruto within him wouldn't forgive either.

What could he do? How should he feel? Sakura was alive, peace had been reached and ... he couldn't be sad. How could he be angry? He would have to hate the whole world for falling to the Tsukuyomi. It was no use trying to be happy either. His happiness was standing right in front of him, and now he realized that it was forever out of reach.

Sakura was staring at him, perplexed. Her red dress was too light for this weather. Her handbag was overflowing, but she didn't mind. Naruto removed his hands from his face.

There was one option left.

Naruto giggled.


End file.
